Toothpick-machine



. 5 the plate itself has been made in the form of UN TED ST TE PATENT" OFFICE.

CHARLES F. SOAMMAN, or DEERING, MAINE.

TOQTHPlCK-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,734, dated June 19, 1894.

Application filed November 1, 1893. SerialNo-489fl0l- (NomodeL) To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. SOAMMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Deering, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toothpick-Machines; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact .description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a machine for making tooth-picks-of that type wherein a strip of veneer is fed over the edge of a stationary knife, a wooden block to which is imparted a reciprocating motion acting to force the strip intermittently against the knife, thus cutting off the picks in succession from the end of the strip. In this operation the body of the strip is forced by the block below the edge of the knife, and before it can be fed along again across the edge of the knife it must be lifted to a point slightly above the edge of the knife by means of a plate so called.

In prior machines of the class spoken of a springby which it lifted itself and the strip automatically as the block went up, but the motion of the machine was so rapid and the strain so severe thatthe spring plate would frequently break. I have also used to overcome this difficulty a plate which had a vertical movement imparted to it by means of cams, the motion being positive in both directions but I have found that this mechanism was difticult to keep in order and required the services of a skilled mechanic.

According to my present invention I attach the plate to the pivoted lever against which a spring acts to force the plate upward, the lever extending forward of its pivoting point to form an arm to which is attached the plate and back of the pivoting point to form an arm against which the spring acts said lever being pivoted to the lower feed rolls.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a machine constructed according to my invention.

In the drawings Figure 1. is a plan or top view. Fig. 1.

A represents the frame work of the machine.

C is the knife which has its, cutting edge projecting upward. 1

B is the block for feeding the strip of veneer against the knife.

b is the pitman rod and b is the eccentric by which the block is reciprocated.

e. and f are the feed rolls and e and fare their journals and D is the bed plate over whichthe veneer strip is fed.

The operation of the machine is well known and consistsof feeding the strip of veneer through the rolls and over the knife against which the block forces the forward edge of the veneer strip, cutting 0E successive p'ortions to form tooth-picks.

Fig. 2. is a section on the line at 00 of The plate is located directly in front of i the feed rolls and back of the knife and is secured tothe forward arm hof a leverH which is hinged or pivoted to the journal e of the lower feed roll and extends back beneath the bed D forming an arm h.

A springiwhich is shown as a coiled spring but which may be a rubber or any other suitable spring, acts against the bed D and the lever H and tends to force the plate and the forward end of the lever upward or in the direction of the block.

The operation of the plate is similar to its operation in the old form of machine, viz: the veneer strip rests on it and when it is forceddownward by the action of the block the spring is compressed and when the block lifts the plate is forced upward lifting the veneer above the edge of the knife into a posidependent spring which spring can be easily replaced when it wears out and which is not easily worn out or destroyed.

I claim- In a toothpick machine, the combination of a fixed knife, upper and under rolls for feed-- ing a strip of veneer over the edge of said 5 knife, a reciprocating block for forcing said veneer against said knife, a plate between said rolls and said knife for supporting said veneer, a lever pivoted on said under roll and having a rearward projecting arm to which 

